For the third year in a row, Terra Nova will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a not-so-traditional Irish blessing at Brown’s Brewing Company. Today, Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian will join Lead Pastor Ed Marcelle and Brown’s Brewing President Garry Brown for one of the Capital Region’s most anticipated St. Patrick’s Day events.

Come out for an evening of music, food, drinks, and a modern take on a centuries-old Irish custom. The event will kick off at 5 p.m. sharp with a bagpipe procession by the Schenectady Pipe Band, and will be immediately followed by remarks from Mayor Tutunjian and the blessing from Pastor Marcelle.

“The Blessing of the Bar is a message. It is about the importance of legacy,” Marcelle said. “It’s about the legacy of the Irish people, which is felt so strongly here in Troy and the Capital Region. It’s about the legacy of St. Patrick, who was truly the apostle to the Irish people. And it’s about the legacy built by Garry and Kelly Brown, who for more than 15 years have provided our community with a place to come together over great food and great beer. Terra Nova is grateful to once again be a part of this event.”

Best known as the patron saint of Ireland, Patrick led a privileged life in Roman-controlled Great Britain until he was kidnapped by Irish marauders at the age of sixteen. His kidnappers took him to Ireland and enslaved him for six years. It was during this period of bondage that Patrick met God, whom he would later call “the friend of his soul.” After he escaped from his captors and returned to England, Patrick had a vision of a man who said to him, “O shepherd boy, come back and tell us of your God.” He returned as a missionary to Ireland, which at that point had no indigenous Christian population. Patrick is best known for his work as a missionary to the Irish people, but his experience in captivity also made him an outspoken opponent of the slave trade. He has been credited as the first person in the history of the world to speak out unequivocally against slavery.

Below is a video of the 2008 Blessing of the Bar.